I was taken from my life
by Sumire-kun
Summary: Rei's parents were killed in a car accident, no one knows much about her father, and during the full moon, her eyes would change colors and pokemon would come to her, and gaurd her from something truly mysterious... Something's happening, why is Rei so sp
1. Default Chapter

Max stared nervously out to the road, the eleven-year-old girl being carried onto a stretcher. Then he saw it. Green-flecked amber eyes, just like the girls, stared out of the bushes, and then it was gone. The girl! But that was impossible. The girl was almost comatose from the car accident. He bowed his head, crying as he saw his sisters body being carried in a body bag, but felt nothing but contempt when he saw her no-good ex husband's.

He hadn't been there, and when he'd finally showed up, he'd killed his little sister. He was the reason she's been exiled from the family. And now, with his own little girl to care for, now he'd need to take care of Rei's. But he'd do it. That poor girl had nothing. He drove home, but he couldn't get those amber eyes out of his head.

a few months later

They didn't know. It was better this way. Uncle Max Curston tried to be nice, really he did. But he hadn't known her since birth to like her. He didn't need to know. He and Aggie, his wife, had ranted about how Papa had been a no good lout, but Mama had explained it all. There were some difficulties with Papa's family, and to keep us safe, Papa had left. To keep us safe...

On his death, unknown to the Curstons, Father had been a very rich person, and it said on my fifteenth birthday, I'd inherit his 11.4 billion dollar account. Papa's lawyer friend Lawrence, had told me all this when he came to visit me in the hospital. I wondered what Papa had done for a living, but I didn't let it haunt me. How much was a billion anyway? I only knew up to 100,000. I'd turned ten a week ago, so only three more years, and I'd be rid of my awful cousin, Angel.

God, that witch was anything but. Aggie and Angel both hated me. It was pure and simple. What did I do to them? I slept in the attic, though it had been my responsibility to get rid of all the Zubat who'd been there prior to the accident. They treated me like crap, basically.

Uncle Max came into the attic, grinning. I was wearing dark clothes, which I wore in Papa's and Mama's honor. I promised that someday, when I found myself again, I'd stop. But now, 'myself' was lost.

I wore dark blue jeans, and black t-shirt. Uncle Max came and sat on my old bed, wincing as it squeaked and creaked. It kept me awake at night a lot. He pasted the grin onto his face.

"Guess what, Raono?" He started. Raono. I hated that name. I was Rei. No one called my Raono before Mama and Papa died, but then, before they died, I hadn't known I had any relatives besides them

"What?" I asked politely. He smiled uneasily at me. He seemed to be unsettled by me. But he had that grin packed on hard.

"We're going to the trainer's registration today with Angel, would you like to come?" Pokemon. Memories flooded me, times with Mama's Chansey, playing around with her Crobat, Daddy playing with me and his Hitmonchan. That had always been fun. Mama had been a professor. But what was that?

"Let's go, Raono." he said after I nodded. I bounced lightly to my feet, and then followed him. Aggie glared at me as I got in the car, waving sweetly to Angel from the doorstep. I didn't know why she hated me. I guess she wasn't a loving person, like Mama.

"What kind of Pokemon are the starters, anyhow, Daddy?" Angel asked curiously. He handed her a brochure. I leaned over to see, and then smiled. Squirtle, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Totadile, Chikorita, Cyndaquill, Treeko, Mudkip, Eevee, and Torchik. Ten starter Pokemon. The Meyatex Region was known for having Pokemon from all over the world, from Kanto, from Hoenn, from Johto, and from La 'Mier. So we had starters from all of them, except La 'Mier. That was a bit of a hard one.

When we got there, and aged woman looked at us over her spectacles. There were nine other children waiting patiently, or impatiently.

"Ah, you've arrived, Max." She croaked in a gentle voice. I could tell Angel was repulsed by the old lady, while I kind of pitied her. She looked like she was lonely. I could tell she was fond of all the children. Uncle Max bowed his head respectively.

"Yes Ma'am. I've brought along my niece, Raono." I winced again at the name. Rei. Rei! She scowled at him.

"I do not have enough Pokemon for an extra!" She said furiously. Angel gave me a look.

"I'm getting the last Pokemon, not you, Raono." I blushed furiously, feeling let down. I scuffed my foot on the floor while the children stared at the adults. She sighed.

"Children, do you see those laptops?" We all nodded. "Go to them, and answer all the questions." We nodded. There was even an extra laptop for me.

Name: Raono (Rei) Osacura

Hobbies: Singing, karate, swimming, and drawing.

Birthday: May/22/1990

Height: "4'6"

Weight: 65 lbs

First choice Starter: Don't care.

It was easy enough to answer all the questions, but I guess it didn't matter since I wasn't even getting a starter. After all the information was entered, Professor Rose stood up.

"Okay children, come along. Angel Curston?" Angel stepped forward proudly. Professor Rose handed her the ball.

"Ashton Cutter?" she called, one by one, till apparently, I was next.

"Rei Osacura?" I stepped forward shyly, smiling at the old lady. She smiled at me, and handed me a pokeball. I stepped outside quickly after gratefully thanking her. Angel was waiting outside with her Chikorita, smirking.  
"What'd you get?" I smiled at her, throwing the pokeball.

"Go!" She burst out laughing clutching her sides, as I stared in disbelief. A Magikarp? They were one of the weakest Pokemon ever known. I blushed in humiliation, returning the Magikarp to its ball. I turned to her boldly, hiding my shame, scolding myself that I should appreciate any Pokemon. How did poor Magikarp feel? "Well I think if I train it well, when it evolves, it will be way stronger then your Chikorita." I said defiantly. She started laughing again.

"Don't insult me. Gyarados are weak against grass types, anyhow." I nodded glumly, heading back into the lab, where people were chattering about their cool Pokemon. I smiled weakly at Professor Rose, who looked worriedly at me.

"Do you dislike your starter? Most people would just throw a Magikarp away…" I smiled a little bit more at her. Poor lady. She tried her best.

"It's… fine." I said resolutely. Her gaze sharpened.

"Don't lie to me girl." She said, her voice as sharp as her gaze, "You're as easy to read as a book. You feel let down." I turned away, blushing furiously. She got her withered hand and looked severely at me. "Never lie about how you feel for a living thing. Someone will get hurt." She whispered sadly. I nodded, braking away.

"I've another, if you want. It's a bit younger then the rest though." I nodded eagerly. She handed me another pokeball. I threw it in the air, releasing the creature in a flood of red light. It was a Vulpix, a little smaller then normal, I noted. I picked it up, tickling it tummy. It tails wagged as it squealed. I handed Magikarp's ball to Professor Rose, who shook her head.

"Poor dear needs a good home, and you seem like an honest little girl." She said, smiling. She turned to the rest of us. "Now everyone, as you know, do to the law decreed as of four years ago, trainers are not allowed to venture out till their fifteenth birthday, and until then, your children will be schooled at the Academy to learn what they need to for their quests." She said sagely. People nodded, most people already knew this.

As she began to hand out Pokedexes, Vulpix began to run around, making me chase her. "You can only have six Pokemon, no more, no less, until you turn fifteen. Then they will come to me, and you can switch off when you wish."

two months later

I giggled as I watched Vulpix, now named Talia, romp in the snow. I'd named the Magikarp Kirin, and a few weeks ago, he'd evolved into a big strong Gyarados. I clambered onto his back, followed by Talia. She'd gotten average sized now, with a healthy ember attack that I'd trained her to use with quite some power.

I was at the pond in the forest. The forest itself was on not really for from the house. I wished I could give Kirin more room to swim then this, but this was the closest body of water with any amount of area, and even so, Kirin could barely fit into it. I jumped off, sighing as I heard Uncle Max call my name.

"Time to go guys." I muttered. I jumped off Kirin, and returned him to his Pokeball. Surprisingly Kirin only ate once a week , and he enjoyed feasting on the local bug Pokemon. I hated bugs, but I also hated seeing them go down his hatch. Talia walked by my side, singing her odd little song.

"Vul. Vul. Vul. Vulpix vul Vulpix." She sang. I giggled and picked her up, spotting uncle Max, who looked at me worriedly.

"Good heavens Rei, I was worried about you." He said snappishly. He hated it when I just disappeared, though I wondered why he worried so much. I didn't think he really liked me. He calmed down a little. "That man, Lawrence, is here to speak to you." He said. I squealed with joy. I used to play with Lawrence all the time when I was little, and I liked him a lot better then my current family. I ran all the way, Talia keeping up just barely.

I saw him, as always, in a black business suit. Lawrence was a lawyer. (Go figure.) He had a briefcase with him, carried by a buff looking Machop I knew as Tim. I tackled Lawrence, hugging him tightly. He laughed. He was a handsome man in his late twenties, who was good with kids. Especially me.

"Whoa! Settle down, Rei." I giggled and let go, hugging Tim in turn. Talia stared at the two strangers. She hid behind me. I laughed and picked her up, while Lawrence smiled.

"Lawrence, this is my Vulpix, Talia." He smiled, petting her.

"Hello Talia. I'm Lawrence, Rei's Godfather." he said warmly. Talia sniffed his hand, her fox-like face looking very cautious, then licked it. Lawrence laughed his booming laugh. I giggled and brought him to the backyard, where no one could hear us. It was something I always did with Lawrence, Papa, or Mama. They'd always said it was important.

"So, you're a Pokemon trainer now?" He asked. I nodded.

"Professor Rose says it's not official till our fifteenth birthdays. I've got a Gyarados and Talia." He stared at me in shock.

"Sweetie, aren't you a bit young for a Gyarados, they're supposed to be really temperamental." I smiled at him.

"It's okay, Kirin's really sweet, despite the fact he likes snacking on bug Pokemon…" I said, trailing off at the end, wincing as I remembered him snap up a bunch of helpless Caterpie. Lawrence smiled crookedly at me.

"We all need to eat, sweetheart." I nodded sadly. Caterpie are so cute though… He handed me a thick bundle of dollar bills. I recognized a twenty on each one.

"This'll keep you happy till I next visit you. I saw your aunt Aggie, scary coot, isn't she." I laughed till I cried while Lawrence grinned. He became serious. "I got Crobat to do some spying the last few days, and I don't like what he reported. They seem to be really stingy with you, Rei." I shrugged.

"It's not their fault. They just don't like me." I said simply. He grinned.

"You make everybody sound like a good person in that weird world of yours, you know that?" I grinned at him.

"Papa said that being optimistic was a good thing." Lawrence grinned wryly at me.

"Optimistic, not blind. They're treating you completely unfairly. It's wrong. They cosset their own daughter, but a niece comes along and they treat her like dirt. You do most of the chores, but you don't get an allowance, and the Angel girl does almost nothing but paint her nails and she's got a big screen TV. Now I'm just giving you an allowance." I nodded, smiling. "I have to go now, sweetie, I've got to be in court in two days, can't miss it." I waved good bye, shoving the money in my short's pockets.

"What did he want?" Aggie asked, coldly, but curiously. I smiled at her. I knew better then to tell her, no matter if they thought I was dumb.

"To say hi to his goddaughter." I said absently. They stared at me. They obviously didn't know that Lawrence is my godfather. Oh-well. I strolled upstairs, carrying Talia in my arms.


	2. Moving Out

two and a half years later

Lawrence came to visit about every six months, bringing money and a gift every time, but I forgot all about my inheritance. 'The Family' was so dumb, they didn't notice that I had a cell-phone, because I kept it off, or a walk-man, because I kept it in my room. I'd even managed to sneak a new mattress in my room. They didn't notice that the attic had a new coat of paint, or that the floor was no longer covered with dropping or dust.

I'd done a lot of things, and I'd done them subtly. I wasn't that big of a spender, and I'd really never spent all the money Lawrence had given me. I'd bought a fire stone when Talia and I had decided she was ready to evolve, which was just about four months ago. Talia was now a Ninetales, and a kick-ass one, too. She was a lot stronger then Angel's Bayleef, though we'd never battled. I battled wild Pokemon and tourists only, so no one knew how strong we were. Surprise was a good element in battle.

My Dewgong, Aaya, was swimming in the pond, her tail fanning out gracefully. Kirin had recently eaten a meal of three Pinsir, and four Beedrill. He had never gotten over his love for bugs, and it was cheaper this way, since he'd learned to store food in his body, only needing to eat once a week. He was lying on the grass, sun bathing. I leaned against him.

The Family only knew that I had Talia. They didn't even know about Kirin and Aaya. I was wearing a designer one piece swim-suit I'd bought when Aggie and Angel weren't looking. I dove into the pond, holding on to Aaya as she swam. It was amazing how easy it was for her to swim five times as fast as me at my best. I loved being able to tear through the water at this speed. My Nidoqueen, Charla, stampeded out of the trees, jumping into the water.

Aaya quickly turned to the right, barely sparing me from the huge splash that had followed Charla. Charla popped her head out of the water, sighing with delight. I agreed, it was pretty hot. I floated on my back. I loved weekends. Aaya grabbed my waist and dragged me under the water. I didn't struggle. She would know when I needed air. After ten more seconds, I felt my lungs burn for air, and Aaya shot out of the water, carrying me with her.

"Dewgong gong!" Watch out, clumsy! 

"Nidoqueen. Nido Nido!" Who are you calling clumsy, horn-head? 

"Dewgong, Dew-gong gong." Who're you to talk? They just starting sassing each other. By now I knew better then to try to stop them.

I watched everyone get out, resting in Kirin's shadow. I smiled. I was proud of how I raised my Pokemon. A Nidoqueen, A Gyarados, a Ninetales, and a Dewgong, all the top form of their evolution line. I felt my stomach grumble, and they all looked and me, smiling. Charla had feasted on the local berries, Talia, on the local Rattata population, Aaya, on what I think was seaweed, and Kirin, of course, on the local bugs. I winced.

Five more days till Angel's fifteenth birthday. Her Bayleef, Raticate, and Fearow, would probably all leave with her on her quest. I had spent most of my money now on Pokemon food, and a digitizable carrier, that digitizes items into a small watch, and Lawrence probably wouldn't come for another two months.

I didn't have much money for my Pokemon journey, but I'd make do. Aggie didn't think I had any. As I was walking home from the pond, a trainer spotted me, and ran over.

"I challenge you to a battle." He said boldly. I hid a smirk. The trainer was one of the boys that I'd call a prep. Rich, handsome, and way to arrogant. He was a year or two older then me, but I doubted his abilities. My Pokemon and I trained _hard_.

"You'd be a waste of my time." I said gently. He turned bright red.

"Wanna bet?" I smirked. This boy was too cocky for his own good. I took my wallet out of my shorts.

"Okay. Two hundred dollars to the winner." I said casually. He smirked. Yup, definitely one of those rich preps. I thought on it a moment, and decided on Charla. She was too hyper today anyway. I was about to send her out, when he sent out his.

"Go Ivy!" It was an Ivysaur. _Well, mebbe not. It's to hot to play with this prep, so I'll finish him off fast. _I thought.

"Go Talia!" I shouted. The boy paled when he saw the large Ninetales. My Ninetales was well taken care of. Her food was always checked for vitamins, her fur brushed three times a day, and her training was from a camp in hell. I never pushed her harder then she could do, but never any less.

She was bigger then the average Ninetales, stronger then the average Ninetales, and faster then the average Ninetales. Not to mention WAY prettier.

"Let's do this two on two." I said calmly. He nodded, still staring at Talia. "Fire blast, Talia!" Before the Ivysaur could even move, he was K.O'd. Burnt to a crisp, I acknowledged. The boy paled. He probably didn't expect a younger kid to go shish kabob him.

"Go Poliwhirl!" He shouted. I returned Talia calmly, and he paled. I got Kirin's ball, grinning evilly.

"It's not that I don't think that Talia can't take your wimpy little Poliwhirl, but Kirin needs to have a little fun every now and then, since it's hard for him to find a good place to swim." "Go Kirin!" I shouted. He came out, majestic as always. The bug diet he had himself on for the last few years had made him buff, and to big for the pond. I guess it was the high protein. He had a nice shiny coat that I treated every week, and he was around thirteen feet longer then the average Gyarados, and I might be wrong, but I thought quite a bit stronger. Like Talia, all my Pokemon had been trained to their limits. "Wrap." Kirin surged forward, wrapping the Poliwhirl in his thirty-four foot body. The Poliwhirl screamed in agony, and I shut my eyes tightly. I knew what Kirin could do.

We'd practiced this attack on old trees, and Kirin had be trained to squeeze so tightly that the trees would either explode, or snap unceremoniously in half. I couldn't take it, the Poliwhirl had already fainted from pain, but Kirin was awaiting my signal.

"Kirin, let go. It's done." Kirin let go and with a snake-like grace, slid over to me, where I patted (what little of him I could reach) and praised him. I returned him to his pokeball.

"What the hell did you do to Poliwhirl?" The boy yelled. I frowned at him. That wasn't proper trainer etiquette. You were supposed to go to your opponent and shake their hands. After a good night's sleep, or even several nights, at the Pokemon Center, his Poliwhirl would be good as new, anyways. I remained casual.

"You challenged me, and if you hadn't wanted that to happen to your Pokemon, then you should have thrown in the towel after I sautéed your Ivysaur. You underestimated me, and your Pokemon paid the price for your stupidity." I said coolly. He took a deep breath, his face turning darker and darker shades of red till it turned puce. He grudgingly gave me the money, returning his Poliwhirl.

"Good duel." I said cheerfully, humming as I went away. He put his hand on my shoulder. I stilled the instinct to whirl around and punch him.

"My name's Jake, what's yours?" I turned, my face utterly cold.

"Raono. Take your hand off my shoulder, or you will be mauled." He hurried did so and I walked away, whistling cheerfully.

Jason P.O.V.

Jason walked through the streets, looking for a trainer. He saw a girl stroll out of the woods. She was a little wet, wearing what he assumed to be shorts over a one-piece swimming suit. She had shiny black hair pulled back into a pony tail, her bangs falling over part of her face, framing it perfectly.

But what interested him the most was the ball belt she was wearing, of which four pokeballs were hooked on the side for full balls. He jogged up to her, a little nervous. She had an aura around her of calmness. She raised her eyebrows when he got to her.

"I challenge you to a battle." She looked like she was about to laugh in his face, and a smile tugged at her lips.

"You'd be a waste of my time." Jason was mad. How could she say that? He was a pretty good trainer, and she looked a year or two younger then him, possibly not yet fifteen. She smirked at him visibly now.

"You wanna bet?" He challenged. A smile threatened to replace the smirk. She had such uncommon eyes. They seemed bottomless bits of amber and green. She pulled something out of her pocket, a wallet.

"Okay, two hundred dollars to the winner?" Jason smirked. He'd made bets three times that big, and won. He nodded, taking fifteen steps back to allow room for the battle. He sent out Ivy, his Ivysaur and first Pokemon. He was proud of her, the ace in his deck. He'd pulverize this cocky little girl. She smirked and sent out a Ninetales. It was the most beautiful creature he'd every seen. Shining gold-white fur and beautiful mahogany eyes that shimmered in the sunlight.

As coolly as if she was ordering lemonade, she ordered her Ninetales to blast Ivy. It pained Jason to watch his best friend char and burn. He returned her sadly to her pokeball, summoning Poliwhirl, shaking with anger. He'd make that Ninetales pay for what she did to Ivy. But the Ninetales was recalled. She made a nasty little comment about Poliwhirl before loosing her Gyarados on him.

In seconds, Poliwhirl was defeated. It hurt Jason so much to hear him scream, but he noticed how the girl shut her eyes tightly. Was that a tear he saw? There was something pained in her eyes when she opened them again.

"Kirin, let go." He heard. She pat him, murmuring praise? How could she praise him for what he'd just done. He knew it wasn't right, but he yelled at her anyway.

"What the hell did you do to Poliwhirl?" He yelled as he returned Poliwhirl to his ball. She looked at him with casually, even coldly.

"You challenged me, and if you hadn't wanted that to happen to your Pokemon, then you should have thrown in the towel after I sautéed your Ivysaur. You underestimated me, and your Pokemon paid the price for your stupidity."

Back to Rei's POV

I continued to walk home, feeling guilty. Maybe I should have told Kirin to use a weaker attack. Wrap was a bit harsh, at least it was if it was Kirin dishing it out. I wondered if the poor thing would be alright. I turned on my walkman, going home for lunch. Everyone was already there. Aggie glared at me and yelled at me for being late, though I was actually five minutes early.

We ate first, then began to talk, well, they did.

"Well sweetie, what do you think you're gonna do after your birthday?" Max asked Angel.

"I think I'm going to go on a quest and see if I can get to the Meyatex league." She said indifferently. Aggie gasped, and Angel smiled. "What Mom, don't you think I can do it?" Aggie smiled.

"Of course I think you can do it, sweetie. But all alone…" She grinned. I grinned into my cup. I could just imagine Angel, terrified and all alone in the wilderness.

"Don't worry mom, Eocene and Erin said they'd come with me." I snorted. They would. The two strongest boys in our year, Eocene and Erin were twins, not identical, but twins, who both had crushes on Angel. Angel and Aggie turned to me, identical expressions of hatred on their faces.

"So what are you going to do?" Aggie asked. I was ironically born two days after Angel, so we'd be leaving about the same time.

"I'm going to go on a quest to beat as many gym leaders as I can till the League starts, then go there." I said coolly, sipping my soda.

"Mommy, she's copying me." Angel whined. I choked on my coke.

"Are you (cough cough) kidding (cough, cough) me? Why the (Cough, cough, cough) hell would I (COUGH) copy some- (COUGH COUGH) -body like (Cough) her?" I said, banging my collar bone till it all went down. Angel looked displeased.

"What do you mean, somebody like me?"  
"I hope you don't expect up to pay!" Aggie said, making Angel light up like a Christmas tree. Max looked uncomfortable. I grinned at Aggie coldly, reaching into my pocket and drawing out my previous money, and my winnings from earlier today. Angel gaped.

"How'd you get that much money?" She said indignantly, Aggie echoing her only a second off beat. I smiled lazily, almost a smirk.

"It's amazing how much rich boys are willing to bet on battles, especially when their not that good." I said. Angel smirked at me.

"They must have been pretty bad to have lost to you." I turned bright red, only years of being scolded by Max and slaps by Aggie kept me from giving her a broken nose.

"Then you must really suck." I said casually, "Considering I can probably beat you easy three on three, or three on one, as a matter of fact.

"Care to try!" Angel yelled, standing up. Aggie smiled.

"Atta' go! Discipline her, Angel!" _God, how pathetic,_ I mused.

"Okay, three on three battle, in the backyard, now." I said. She stomped off to the back, her steak unfinished. I held back a laugh as I stood up gliding to the back door, in front of me an eager looking Aggie and a disgruntled Max. Aggie probably expected me to lose.

Angel smirked at from across their backyard.

"There's no way you can win a three on three battle when you only have one Pokemon." I smirked back at her, holding up all four of my pokeballs.

"Who said I only had one? God Angel, you're so stupid." I sent out Charla. She needed the practice.

"Oh yeah? Well go Whisper!" I smirked. Whisper was her very recently evolved Raticate. He had a very bad sense of balance. I watched as Angel blushed when Whisper fell on his butt. But she still tried hard, I admit. "Go Whisper, Hyper fang." Whisper lunged forward, teeth bared. Charla stood patiently.

"Wait for it." I said, my voice shaking with laughter, which Angel took as fear. She looked triumphant.

"Not so tough now, huh?" I giggled, pointing back to the battle. Charla had swung around, giving Raticate a good dose of Iron Tail. It was so weak, it was a one hit knock out. I was starting wonder how other people trained their Pokemon, or maybe I just fought weak trainers.

"Oh no! Whisper!" Angel cried. She looked more upset that she'd lost the first round then her Pokemon getting hurt. She returned him calmly, while still managing to look pissed.

"Had enough, cousin dear?" I said sarcastically.

"GO ANGEL! YOU CAN DO IT!" Aggie yelled loudly. Angel managed a winning smile. What a prep.

"Go Heaven!" Heaven was her Fearow, ugly thing, really. I was surprised Angel kept it. I'd seen her room. It was painted baby blue and hot pink, everything completely feminine. "Peck!" _yeah, right. _I thought reverently.

"Wait for it, then grab the neck." I said at the last second. Charla seized the large bird Pokemon's neck right behind it's head, swinging it's body and smashing it into the ground. The bird Pokemon was about to get up, when Charla, at my signal, pounded it on the head with her heavy tail. Angel looked almost tearful to lose so bad.

"It's not fair! That Nidoqueen was stronger." I smirked at her. What a ditz.

"Technically, Angel, Charla has a disadvantage to Heaven, so really, you have no excuse except that you're a bad trainer." I said easily. She glared at me, returning Heaven to her ball. She sent out her Bayleef, Rita.

"Go Rita, show that bully what you can do. _Bully? _I thought, amused. _Honestly, how old is she? _I thought reverently. At least Charla was having fun. She looked a little tired, but not much. Angel's Pokemon weren't strong enough to do anything to her. The Bayleef was relatively big, with a hot pink ribbon around it's neck.

"Let's get ready to rumble, Charla. Maybe Rita can give us some fun." I said, smirking. "Body Slam!"

"Vine Whip!" The Bayleef managed to lever Charla over her head as she jumped forward.

"Front Flip!" Charla absorbed the fall with her hands, rolling into a sort of front flip, falling heavily on her feet. "Ready, Take Down!" She charged, shoving the Bayleef into the ground. _Damn, she's not out. Oh well, it can't be all Roselia's and Beautifly's. _I thought reflectively. "Okay, Iron tail while she's down, follow up on Tackle!" Charla's tail glowed hot white, smacking Rita soundly, throwing her against the ground as she began to get up. She tackled her, combining it up with a Body Slam, and the grass Pokemon was K.O'd.

"Bayleef is unable to battle, the match goes to me and Charla!" I yelled as Charla caught me in a big Ursaring hug. _Oomph. I'm squished…_Angel collapsed, sobbing in humiliation. Max and Aggie ran to comfort her. I was still praising Charla when Aggie came to slap me soundly on the cheek. Well, I'm sure that was her intention. Charla grabbed Aggie's speeding arm and threw her bodily to the ground.

She looked ready to kill, Charla, that is. I was afraid for Aggie, as much as I hated her, I didn't want her to be ripped apart by a blood-lusting Nidoqueen.

"Charla, return." Charla returned unwillingly, glaring at Aggie. I smiled sadly at the pokeball, then turned to Aggie, eyebrows raised. "What was that about?" She scowled at me.

"As if you didn't know!" She spat bitterly, pointing at Angel. "You must have cheated to beat Angel, and I don't tolerate cheaters!" I smiled wryly at the women I'd hated for three long abusive years.

"Is it cheating to care? Is it cheating to train your Pokemon? Is it cheating to work beside them for years, every day until you think you'll drop?" I said bitterly. She stared at me coldly.

"I want you out of the house. I'll give you twenty minutes to pack, and then you're gone!" I didn't say anything, half stunned and half gleeful. I decided to go to my friend's house and see what happened from their. I got my school things, my clothes, my walkman, and the bear essentials. I'd need help carrying this shit.

"Go Charla!" Charla appeared, still looking very pissed.

"Nidoqueen! Queen Nido!" Why the hell did you stop me? I grinned at her, which seemed to calm her a bit.

"I got thrown out." I winced as my Pokemon displayed some language she'd picked up from me and some other kids in school.

"Nido! Queen Nido, Nidoqueen!" That mother-fucking-bitch! (OO) **T-T **I stared at her, wide-eyed. _Do I really cuss that much? _I wondered, vowing to stop. We trotted downstairs, Charla more carefully because of here larger girth. We bolted out of the door, running easily. The bags didn't hinder us, because during our training, I'd fill them with bricks or lead while we ran, to strengthen out legs.

"Nidoqueen, queen Nido. Nidoqueen, Nido, Nidoqueen, queen, Nido Nido." Your psycho-bitch training is paying off right about now. I glared at her.

"Thanks." I muttered. Charla glared at me irritably as I fell only a few feet behind. She wrapped her tail around my waist, dumping me unceremoniously on her back while she picked up the speed. _She was holding back for me. _I realized, then pouted. Why were all my Pokemon faster then me?

"Nidoqueen. Queen?" Tyson's, right? I nodded, then realizing she couldn't see me, said yes. It took us a couple of minutes to get there, but Charla ran unwaveringly. Tyson was in his front yard, dutifully pruning a rose bush while his Hitmonchan, Sake, (Yes, he was named after the drink, stop wondering you dimwits!) was mowing the lawn. I glanced at him, my eyebrows raised.

"Evening, Ms. Winslow." I said mockingly. He wore his mother's flowered apron and pruning gloves. He glowered at me.

"Not another word." I grinned and grabbed some more shears, pruning away right next to him. A thorn nipped my finger, drawing blood.

"Shit!" I said, drawing back my finger and automatically putting it in my mouth, before hastily taking it out in disgust as I tasted my own blood. Tyson smirked, easily snipping away in his leather shearing gloves.

"Be careful little miss Osacura." I stuck out my tongue, wiping my finger on the grass. Tyson frowned when he saw the amount of blood the thorn had drawn on his recently mowed lawn. "Be right back, Rei." He said, putting down his shears and going inside. He came back with a first aid kit, and before I could before I could protest, he was by my side, holding up a pad of gauze wet with disinfectant.

"Ouch!" I yelped. He grinned crookedly.

"Wimp." I stuck my tongue out again as he put a bandage on it. We pruned again in silence. I waited till we were done to mention anything.

"Do you think your mom will care if I stay over at your house till grad?" I asked suddenly. He fell on his butt, astonished.

"What? I mean, I know Angel's a bitch and Max is a wimp, but are they that bad?" He asked, winged eyebrows raised. I glared at him, scowling.

Though Tyson knew I had more then Talia for Pokemon, he didn't know just how strong they were, or what they were, and my refusal to battle with them had convinced other people they were weak. I stuck my tongue out at him again. I considered having the advantage of surprise a good thing, besides, I like stringing Tyson along. He did, however, know about Charla, and was content to know she was strong enough to beat the crap out of Soki.

"Angel challenged me to a battle, I accepted. I won. She bitched about it. Aggie threw me out. I need to stay at your place till graduation." I said quickly. He looked at me oddly, well, actually, he stared at me as if I'd suddenly become an entirely different creature.

"Okay, first we're going to go tell Mom very carefully about this." He stopped, looking thoughtful. "You know, she's been looking for a renter, you know for that spare room? This just might work out." We strolled into the kitchen.

Mrs. Wilson, a pretty brunette lady in her late thirties, was in the kitchen baking cookies. Mrs. Wilson was what people thought of as a housewife. She baked cookies, she gardened, she was pretty much always perky, but the thing was, she was ambitious. She planned on her son being a trainer to be able to brag about, and I guess he was.

She smiled cheerily at me.

"Oh hello Rei. Just in time for cookies. They'll be done in a few minutes." I smiled gently at her. For some reason, I'd always felt protective for Janet Wilson. She's lost her husband in a car crash like I lost my parents, and I felt like she was my surrogate mother.

"Hello Mrs. Wilson. I just wanted to ask if I could rent your room." She stared at me in amazement, then chuckled.

"Oh, you had me there, Rei darling. I think I just heard you ask if you could rent my spare room." She chuckled. She sobered at the look on my face. "What happened?" I spent the next ten minutes explaining over a plate of cookies and fat free milk.

Rei had never seen Janet Wilson that angry before, but now she looked furious. "Agatha Curston has gone to far! Honestly, just because of some silly battle! She has absolutely no right to just throw you out on the streets like that! The nerve of that woman!" She yelled. It took a few minutes for us to calm her down, and then she smiled tiredly.

"Don't worry, darling. You won't have to pay rent." She muttered to me. "After what happened to your parents, no one should have to. Just like my Charles." Tyson threw me a look. Mrs. Wilson tended to get a little weepy when she talked about her husband. I nodded sympathetically and the two of us had her lay in her room. Tyson grinned at me.

"This is going to be so cool!" He said enthusiastically. I grinned back at him. Yeah, I guess it would be. But it didn't make that much difference. Tyson and I saw each other every other day anyways. I laughed and told him to go get some shut eye while I unpacked. I fell asleep, Talia at the foot of the bed.


	3. Third Chappie, YAY!

The next morning, I almost squealed out of alarm since I didn't see my normal creepy attic room. I breathed and told myself I wasn't there anymore. I grinned, now that I thought about it, this definitely was going to be good. Graduation was in two weeks. Then we were free. I pondered how I'd fund myself, then decided to double my efforts and fight every trainer tourist that came to our rich-ass area of Flint City.

I changed into jeans and a t-shirt, humming. Mrs. Wilson was cheerful again, taking blueberry muffins out of the oven. My stomach growled loudly and I blushed while Tyson and Mrs. Wilson laughed. I grinned. Talia suddenly jumped gracefully down the stairs. Mrs. Wilson sighed appreciatively.

"Ninetales, nine, Ninetales!" Why didn't you wake me? I shrugged at her while I sat, eating a warm muffin with more fat free milk. _I think Mrs. Wilson's on a diet. _I mused. Talia nipped my knee.

"Ouch! For your information, I did it for your benefit, I thought you looked peaceful asleep on the bed." I said indignantly. I grinned as I watched Talia. _I didn't know Ninetales could blush. _I thought peacefully.

"You have a milk mustache, dear." Mrs. Wilson commented. I grinned wryly, wiping my mouth and tossing Talia a muffin, which she daintily caught and ate gingerly. I rolled my eyes.

"Show off." I said simply. She just flicked her tail, or rather, her tails, at me. I grabbed my backpack and joined Tyson at the door, waving goodbye to Mrs. Wilson. Talia returned to her pokeball as we walked, and I skipped every few steps. Tyson looked at me oddly.

"This is not the Rei I know. What have you done with her?" He demanded, teasing me while I again stuck my tongue out at him.

"I'm just a little cheerful? Geez, what's wrong?" I said. He laughed and smirked while I moodily glared at him. We ran to Pokemon History.

"Good morning class." Professor Willow said cheerfully.

"Good morning Professor." We chimed in unison. I felt a coin hit my head, and did my best not to turn around and punch Eocene, who sat behind me. Well, not directly. There were two seats between us, giving the coin enough distance to gain momentum. Tyson glared at him openly, but Eocene just smirked.

Angel must have had a talking to her lover boys, and now they were out to get me. Though Angel would never tell anyone that she lost to me. I dodged the next one, and the next one, I even caught the next one and flicked it hard at his forehead with a flick of my wrist, hearing muffled cussing behind me.

"Ms. Osacura, perhaps you can tell me about the project Devon corporations did about thirteen years ago?" Professor Willow asked, perhaps to get me off guard.

"Devon Corporation funded a project to create a human that had a fighting chance against a Pokemon on a one on one battle, as well as the ability to speak to them. However, this project supposedly failed, and apparently, an unknown researcher and his wife took on the baby as there own, but were never heard from again. Supposedly the baby truly would be stronger then an average human, and be able to communicate with them, but the child supposedly would never reach a pokemon ranking strength." I said steadily.

She nodded smiling, as usual, ready to pounce.

"Angel," I grinned as she pounced again, "the law passed seven years ago, effected new trainers life how?" I almost moaned. The question was to easy. But the fates smiled on me that day, or in other words, Angel was having a BLOND moment. Actually, she lived in her blonde moment… She bit her lip, finally, the smile Professor Willow always wore grew fixed.

"The law passed was put so that the new trainers could not begin till three years later prior the previous age limit of ten years." She said tightly. A boy walked in suddenly. _Late. _I thought immediately, but then a realized I'd never seen this boy before, and I knew all the kids in my year.

"Ah, Mr. Tasahura, glad you could make it." The Professor said, genuinely glad. I heard all the girls giggled, and for once, I understood why. He was a looker. Tall, lean yet athletic, with beautiful blue-green eyes and spiky light brown hair with dark highlights. _Those can't be natural. _I thought, moaning inwardly. _Last thing this class needs is another asshole. _I groaned. Tyson winced comically at me, and I giggled. Then I wondered. _Why would we have a new student two weeks before graduation?_ I pushed it out of my mind and tried to pay attention.

"Everyone, this is Mr. Ryoku Storm Tasahura. He just moved here, and will be your class mate for the next few days." _Full name introductory? _I thought, amused. His gaze wandered among the class, stopping only for a few moments on me. I smirked at him. Not a superior smirk, a smirk what I was sure showed pity. He grinned and continued scanning the class, finally taking a seat behind me.

_Uh-oh, not what I expected. _I thought, alarmed. Then I mentally sighed. _Oh well, at least I can stop dodging pennies for now. _The lesson felt longer then usual, and I could wait to get out. Normally I liked Pokemon History, but Ryoku ruined it for me. Next came Physical Training. I could do that. It was a double period, the first for warming up and doing so serious working out, though half the time, it was just the Pokemon doing that, and the second period was for battling.

Tyson and Soki were at the bunching bag, and Talia, Charla, and I were on the treadmill.

"Alright class, time for battles, come get paired up." Coach Krog said. Coach Krog wasn't old, but she was pass middle-aged. She had a son in college and a married daughter.

"Angel, partner up with Eocene, Rei-" She looked at her clipboard. Tyson was already walking toward me. We always partnered up together. "-go with the new kid." Tyson stared at her. I stared at her. Ryoku just strolled up to me.

"Shall we?" I did my best not to glare and walked with him to ring two. I decided to keep it quick. Everyone else crowded around to see the new kid battle. I ignored them.

"Two on Two battle. Winner takes one hundred." I said briefly.

"Go Talia." I said calmly. As always, with her grace and elegance, the girls that hated me to death couldn't help let out awed sighs. I grinned. _I should enter her into a contest. _I thought wryly. Ryoku grinned wickedly.

"Go Shocker!" He called clearly. People ooh'd and aw'd at the Pokemon. The full evolution of Squirtle, Blastoise. This was bad, but I figured Talia could handle him. Shocker got himself into a ready position.

"Relax." I said briefly. "Fire Spin." Fire flew toward the large shellfish Pokemon, who awaited calmly for it's trainer's instructions. Ryoku looked cool and calm, like he'd done this many time before.

"Withdraw." Like a turtle, Shocker retracted is body within his shell till you only saw the shell, and the fire attack was rendered almost useless.

"Ready Talia? On top of the shell." Right before she was there, the Blastoise popped out, evilly grinning.

"Hydro Pump." Ryoku ordered. Talia was blasted against the wall, soaking wet, and I saw red. My blood went cold, and I was unbelievably mad.

"You shouldn't have done that." Tyson murmured to the new boy, who had no idea what he'd just done.

(Ryoku's POV)

I felt a little uneasy as I saw the expression on my opponent's face turn completely cold. She looked straight at me. Her amber eyes, which had been flecked with green before, had turned completely orange-amber, and they glowed with fury. She returned her Ninetales with a loving smile, then went cold again.

"You shouldn't have done that." Someone said to me, a tall boy, with an athletic body and dark brown spiky hair.

"Go Kirin." She said coldly. People gasped in shock as they saw the huge Gyarados, whose blue scales glinted in the light. In the next arena, the two trainers had stopped their battle, and were watching us.

"Calm down, Rei." I saw a boy next to Rei mutter. Her eyes flickered , giving the boy a tight, yet somehow warm smile, but still she seemed impervious to everything except me and Shocker.

"Wrap, and squeeze tight." She said strongly, clearly. I'd never seen a Gyarados that big, and he looked strong. But nothing could crack Shocker's withdraw attack.

"Withdraw." I knew I would be able to dodge the Pokemon, and he had the same type of cold anger his trainer now had. I tried to smirk confidently at her, but the moment I tried, a scream erupted from Shocker's shell. A loud bellow of pain.

Shocker popped out, his eye's squeezed tight with pain.

"Finish this with Iron Tail. This peewee's a waste of your time and mine." She said coolly. The long armored tail glowed white hot, and Kirin thrashed it into Shocker from above. _She didn't have to do that. _I thought angrily. _Shocker was already finished. _ I returned Shocker to his pokeball. The thrash had left an indention about two feet deep in the arena floor. The Gyarados was really strong, and as pissed off as it's trainer.

"You did a good job." I whispered. I decided the best Pokemon to use would be my Flaffy, Kimmy. She would have a type advantage. I turned to her, a crooked smile in my face, inviting her to smile. She didn't. That same cold look was still there. I felt a little worried for Flaffy now, but I sent her anyway.

"Go Kimmy." I said, almost meekly. Something flickered in those bright orange eyes, but it went away just as fast as it came. She looked at me more coldly then ever.

"A trainer should always trust their Pokemon, and while not being cocky, be always spirited." She said softly, so I almost couldn't hear. _Who was she to judge? She's OVER-spirited. _I thought angrily.

"Kimmy, Zap Cannon!" I shouted madly. It was a new move I'd taught her.

"Wait for it." I heard her whisper. At the last second, the Gyarados nimbly dodged the attack. _How can a Gyarados be that fast? _I thought, frustrated. She was as calm and cool as ever. No, not cool, _cold. _

"Let's not drag this out, Kirin, show them your Hyper Beam." she said coldly. I panicked.  
"Flaffy, dodge it when it comes." But she couldn't. Rei's Gyarados was too fast, and the both of them too angry, to let that happen. Kirin smoothly went to his trainer, who's face softened till it became the face of a complete stranger to me. I could only remember that angry face, and her cold voice. Now her face was openly loving, her voice warm and soft.

I picked Flaffy up, checking the damage, and it was bad. I returned her, numbed at how much damage that Kirin could do in one hit. I went over to her at gave her the money. The Gyarados let out a low warning growl and Rei's face went cold again, her previously yellow-amber eyes took on the orange color again. She accepted the money, still cold, and then returned her Gyarados, who apparently had been about to eat me. Strolling to Coach Krog.

(Rei's POV)  


_No one hurts my Talia. _I thought angrily. _No one hurts the people I love._

"I'm going to the Pokemon Center." I said. It wasn't a question of permission. I _was _going. She nodded to me, still amazed at my performance. I shrugged. I guess I never really went psycho before. I'd never used any other Pokemon besides Talia before.

"Be back before lunch." Gazed at her coldly.

"I will be back when my Pokemon is healed, and not before." I said, just as coldly. I strode outside before she could say anything. I heard someone come after me, but I ignored it, until the person put their hand on my shoulder.

Ryoku. I knew somehow. I had this odd ability of telling who was touching me if I knew who they were.

"Get your hand off me before I or my Nidoqueen shove your foot up your groin." I said coldly. He hastily removed his hand, and I continued to walk.

"What's your problem, anyway?" He asked, jogging to keep up with me. I gave him a glance, then sped up. "Dude, what did I do?"

"It's simple. You hurt Talia, I got pissed, and went psycho-bitch mode." I said simply. In the corner of my eye, I saw him grin crookedly.

"At least you admit your faults." I elbowed him in the ribs.

"At least you know that Kirin can woop your ass." I retorted. He winced.

"Oh, burn..." He commented dryly. I giggled. I guess I wasn't mad anymore. A Stantler exploded out of the woods, looking around nervously. He rammed into me. I grabbed his antlers as he came, steeling myself. I twisted around, throwing him sideways into the ground. The buck Pokemon shook himself, snorting. I glanced at it appreciatively. I always enjoyed watching wild Stantler.

It was about four and a half feet at the shoulder, and he had a good set of antlers. He snorted again and charged. I dodged, grabbing my pokeball.

"Go Aaya!" I said.

"Dewgong gong!" I'm ready! I nodded briefly.

"Let's keep this quick, Headbutt combo with Icy Wind!" She rammed the deer Pokemon, horned head first, then took a deep breath, blowing out a strong, icy wind. The Stantler fell, his shoulders slumping as he was coated with a layer of snow and ice.

"Go pokeball!" I said calmly. I watched observantly as the metallic red and white ball wiggled, it's button blinking red, until the ball settled, letting out a plinking sound as the button turned white again. I picked it up, minimizing it and clipping it to my ball belt.

"Shall we continue?" I said, continuing to stroll leisurely but quickly down the trail. I stopped in annoyance as Ryoku didn't move. "What?"

He shook his head in disbelief.

"Do you know how few trainers could catch a Pokemon that easily?" He asked in incredulity. I shrugged, happy to get him to move.

"Whatever. I just train harder then those lamoes." I laughed. "Race you." I ran forward, easily adapting to the new speed. He grinned and ran beside me, I pushed a little, pulling in front of him. He scowled and went a little, faster, then I went all the way, leaving him in my dust.

I pulled into the Pokemon Center, sweating and panting before walking in the automatic doors.

"Hello? Nurse Joy?" No one answered.

"Please, no! Don't take the Pokemon!" I heard a musical voice plead softly. I ran into the room it came from. Four thugs in high-tech equipment were there, wearing uniforms with the thunder symbol on it. They turned when I opened the door. I saw Nurse Joy tied up in the corner, each thug bore a bulging bag of what I assumed to be pokeballs.

"Give back what you took, or you'll be sorry." I said, coldly. A woman with blond hair so fluffy it could almost be an afro sneered at me.

"What're you going to do, huh, sweetie?" I smirked, grabbing three pokeballs. I'd leave Talia and the new Stantler out of this.

"Kick your ass, you ugly bitch." I spat. Her face reddened, and the others looked uneasy.

"You better watch your mouth, little girl. No one messes with The Storm Squad." She said dangerously. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Never heard of you." I said, yawning. They all turned red.

"Well it's a name you'll learn to fear!" She shouted, beet red. I decided Kirin could handle this alone.

"Go Raichu!"

"Go Jolteon!"

"Go Ampharos!"

"Go Elekid!" _Okay, on second thought, he just might need a little help. _I thought, annoyed.

"Kirin, Charla, Aaya, come on out!" I shouted, pissed. They sneered at my water Pokemon.

"Kirin, wrap them nice and tight, Aaya, send them a good Icy Wind, and Charla, try a good Shadow Ball on these nitwits!" I yelled quickly. Before they could do anything, Kirin surged forward, wrapping his long body around them and giving them a tight embrace. They squeaked.

"Thunderbolt!" They all yelled in unison. Sparks flew in the room and Kirin winced, but kept his embrace tight. Aaya sent her best Icy Wind to them, and Charla finished them off with a Shadow Ball. The Raichu stood up wobbly. I shrugged, pitying the poor creature.

"Finish it off, Aaya, Aurora Beam!" I said strongly. The beautiful rainbow color light flew forward from somewhere in front of her horn, a gathering of light and energy, hitting the yellow and brown mouse Pokemon. It was flung against the wall.

I turned to them, smiling coolly.

They looked panicked. Oh my signal, Kirin towered over them. They returned their pokemon, dropped the bags, and ran like the cowards they were.

I went to Nurse Joy and silently untied her while she thanked me, smiling gently. I helped her get up and check that all the pokeballs were there.

"That was amazing." She said, smiling at me. I grinned at her silently while returning Kirin, Charla, and Aaya to their pokeballs. I wiped sweat off my forehead, which finally came now that the thugs weren't here to see it.

"Well, I've never done that before, but I've battled a bit." I said modestly. She laughed and started to reshelf the pokeballs. I helped her till every last slippery metal red and white ball was shelved. She turned to me, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Well, you must have come here for something other then getting rid of some thieves. You're too young to be a police officer." She said, smiling. I nodded, unclipping my entire ball belt.

"I'd-" I started, but Ryoku, (that dummy) picked that exact moment to poke his head into the room.

"Ah! There you are Nurse Joy. I'd like you to take a look at my pokemon, please." He said, impervious to my open glare. I grinned at Nurse Joy wryly.

"What he said, only politer." I said mildly. He blushed furiously, even though he didn't see my grin. She smiled taking our pokemon.

"Of course, you did me a big favor." I smiled as she walked out of the room, passing a confused Ryoku. He turned to me.

"What favor?" I shrugged, hiding a smirk. I strolled out into the waiting room, picking up a magazine, and sitting on the soft sofa. I was completely engrosses on an article called 'Training with Lance and Steven', when I felt the sofa move and someone sat beside me. Ryoku. I felt a flicker of annoyance.

"Don't you know when someone wants you to back off?" I asked irritably. He laughed, tilting back his head. _God, he's posing for his laugh. _I thought with a sinking feeling. I hadn't thought he was _that _bad. I shoved the feeling down. _Why do I even care? _

"Most people like having me around." He explained. I rolled my eyes.

"Right." I said sarcastically. "At least I don't." I said simply. He grinned wryly at me.

(Ryoku's POV)

I was surprised at her obvious distain toward me. Most girls hung on to my every word, though half the time they were just staring at me with big eyes. In the beginning I had liked the attention, but now I just acted like I liked it. It was really kind of annoying, since they judged me just for my looks.

But she looked past my looks. _She thinks I'm an asshole. _I thought, amused. She was reading a pokemon training magazine. _Well, she obviously spends a lot of time with her pokemon. _I acknowledged. I'd never seen a pokemon who could so easily beat Shocker or Kimmy.

She tossed her hair back in an annoyed, yet cute, fashion. She made a face at me and stuck out her tongue childishly. _God, she's cute. _I thought for the seventeenth time. "You're obviously one on those prep boys. You have no idea just how much difference that makes. We're from two different worlds, little boy." She said, then turned back to her magazine, eagerly reading the article. I held back a contented sigh. I didn't know why, but I felt more comfortable then I had in a long time.

I just watched her for the next twenty minutes, flipping through the paged and promptly ignoring me. Her long black hair fell on her shoulders and framed her face. When the examining room door opened, we both jumped up. A blur of white fur shot out, jumping onto her shoulders. The Ninetales, Talia. Rei laughed with relief, hugging her pokemon tightly.

"I was almost worried about you!" I heard her whisper. "Since when do you let creampuffs like him beat you?" I felt mildly insulted, but didn't have time to harp on it before that when my own pokemon ran through the doors.

Rei's POV

The rest of the day went relatively smoothly, we ate lunch with Ryoku, now using the name Ryo, and fell asleep in every other class. I waved bye to him, walking home with Tyson. He smiled at me as I sent out my Stantler, now named Buck.

"Think you can carry me, Buck?" I asked softly. Buck snorted and nodded furiously.

(A/N: I'm just going to translate pokemon speech in italics now, since making the sounds is way too hard and annoying.)

"_Of course, for a human you are a stick." _He said mildly. I didn't know how to take that, so I just swung my leg carefully over. _"Hold on to my antlers, but do not pull on them." _He requested politely.

Four days later…

I yawned as my cell-phone rang at six in the morning. What idiot calls then?

"Hello?" I asked sleepily.

"Hi, Rei, it's me, Ryo." Ryo said. I frowned, why did he sound so nervous? I stifled another yawn, pulling a shirt on over my sports bra.

"Oh, hi Ryo. What's wrong? Why the hell are you calling this early?" I had asked gently at first, but in the end, it came out as a demand. He laughed nervously into the phone while I pulled on some shorts.

"I just wanted to ask you if…" He started, trailing off, then laughing nervously again. I clicked my tongue in impatience.

"Ask me what?" I demanded, cranky as hell that he called so early. I plopped down on my bed, considering hanging up.

"Ask you if you wanted to go to the grad dance this Friday." I pulled the phone away from my face and stared at it. Preppy, handsome, athletic, ogled at, Ryo was asking me over the other dozen girls?

"Is there something wrong with your head, Ryo? There are lots of other, prettier, girls then me who would practically beg you to take them." I said incredulously. He laughed again, a little less nervously.

"Is that a no?" He asked in his deep bass voice. I considered it for a moment, then sighed softly. Why not? It's not like Tyson asked me or something, not that I liked him.

"Sure."

"Sure, no?"

"Sure, as in, yeah, I'll go." I said, rolling my eyes, forgetting that he couldn't see me. He laughed happily.

"Okay, see you at school."

"This could've waited another couple of hours, Ryo." I muttered grumpily. He laughed some more and hung up. I slipped back into bed.

At school, I looked everywhere for Ryo, glowing happily, but frowning as I saw Angel and several other 'popular' girls try to put the moves on him. He looked uncomfortable, backing away quickly, but they just kept coming. I held back a giggle. I had just come up with a wonderful idea.

"Aaya, go!" I whispered. The seal pokemon appeared in all her splendor, looking slightly disappointed she was on land. "Aurora Beam. Not to hard." She did as she was told.

"Please don't summon me on land. It's irking me." She commented as the girls yelped and ran shrieking away. Ryo turned, saw me, and grinned, laughing.

Ashton Ketchum, Grand Master of the United Leagues, and his wife, Mistrial Ketchum, a.k.a. Ash and Misty, walked toward the school accompanied by a large female Pikachu with a protruding belly, a bouncy Corsola, and a gliding Pidgeot. Misty, a woman now in her mid twenties, raised her eyebrows at her husband as she saw the Dewgong spray the group of girls, and the trainer laughing with the young man.

"I wish I could say that reminded me of us, but women didn't really throw themselves at you until a while after we met." She commented dryly. But after he'd grown up, Ash had grown quite dashing, and especially loyal to his girlfriend, and then wife. Ash smiled at his wife, laughing away. All of the sudden, Misty looked worried.

"Do you think Rose is okay?" She asked for the umpteenth time. Rose was their four year old daughter, that Misty loved very much. "And Luke and Briar?" She added. Briar was their seven year old boy, and Luke was there two year old. In fact, Misty was a two months pregnant with their next child already.

"You worry to much! Rose has as much spirit as you do, so she could probably face off a Gyarados without much trouble. Luke and Briar are with May and Drew, so you don't have to worry there, besides that, I've got Brock cooking so the kids and Drew don't have to worry about food-poisoning." Ash said, sighing with exasperation. May truly was a terrible cook, and she of course got insulted when Drew tried to take over.

Misty smiled fretfully, and took her husband's hand.

"I know, I'm just worried." Ash kissed her gently on the forehead.

I saw the two people walking over but I didn't care. I felt awkward, and obviously so did Ryo. What were supposed to do, laugh together, make jokes, kiss? I didn't know, and not knowing for once made me feel exposed, and I didn't like it at all. The feeling, I mean. I'd always been misused, ill-treated, and oppressed, but I'd always known what the situation was, and what I supposed to do. Now I just felt… at lost.

I decided to change the subject that was bound to pop up. I pointed to the couple and frowned.

"Look, Ryo." Aaya was quickly returned, and Talia brought out.

"Ninetales, nine!" Yay, I'm out! I had developed a nice sweat slightly from being with Ryo, but I diverted myself wholly to strangers now. I ran up to greet them, and waved.

"Hi!" I said cheerfully, getting to smiles in return. "May I help you?" I asked. The woman, in her twenties with long red hair that glittered in the sunlight with a slim figure, smiled back at me. She was beautiful, and her husband, with spiky black hair and an athletic toned figure, was equally handsome. A perfect couple. It was her husband that answered.

"Hello. I'm Grand Master Ash and this is my wife, Cerulean Gym Leader and Water Pokemon Master Misty, we're here to see the Professor Rose?"

Ash noted that the girl seemed unimpressed by their titles, which he'd decided to put in so she wouldn't stutter over them. It seemed he need not have troubled over it. The girl nodded and smiled in a friendly manner, though her eyes were cool and quickly analyzing them.

"That's nice. I'll take you to her. I'm Pokemon Trainer Rei and this is my Ninetales, Talia. Talia, say hi." The Ninetales jumped up and licked Ash, then Misty. Rei walked forward, whistling softly, through the door and across the hall to a big mahogany door, and the Ninetales automatically went to her side. Misty whispered to her husband;

"Look at the perfect obedience there. She's certainly a commanding figure." She said, amused. Ash nodded, following silently. Something about her eyes unnerved him, and how could that beauty be human? Her grace and confidence, mixed with her naturally wild beauty made her ethereal and intoxicating to look at.

" Look how he's shoving his title around. Too damn long if you ask me. " Ninetales said cheerfully.

"I'm sure he means well enough, and, after all, he's here to see Prof. Rose." I whispered back, scratching her behind the ear as I walked. I glanced thoughtfully back at him. "At least, if he's not welcome, we can kick his ass." I said absently. Ninetales snorted.

"Rei, he's the GRAND MASTER OF ALL POKEMON!" She said forcefully. I stared at her.

"Since when do I care?" I quipped back. She sighed and hung her head. When did I ever give a shit about anything other then my pokemon?

A/N: I suck at endings, don't I? Aren't supposed to be filled with suspense and all cliff hanger-y? Sorry I take so long to update, I'm only allowed half and hour of computer a day. How weird are my parents? AH!


End file.
